Should Prisoners Practice Yoga?

While prison may be a time for criminals to receive punishment, it should also be a time for rehabilitation so they may re-enter society as responsible citizens. That’s where yoga comes in. A centuries old practice, it teaches inmates about self-control, self-discipline and gives them the tools to resist or react to the negative influences that brought them to prison in the first place. Statistics show that prisoners who participate in yoga, meditation and philosophy classes are almost five times less likely to be reincarcerated.

Birgit Nagele offers reflexology and yoga in service settings to people impacted by disasters, such as Hurricane Sandy and 9/11 in the US, and to families who are currently displaced as refugees in Austria. She combines Chair Yoga (specifically Lakshmi Voelker Chair Yoga and adds trauma sensitive elements) and some do-it-yourself hand reflexology. She is […]